In his recent piece for the New Statesman, Tim Parks describes Italy’s crisis of government in 2021 as “a political psychodrama that beats anything I have seen in my 40 years in the country”, coming as it did in the middle of a pandemic that has now claimed over 100,000 Italian lives.
Parks joined Jeremy Cliffe and Emily Tamkin on this episode of World Review to discuss the Italy’s ever-changing political landscape and whether technocrat prime minister Mario Draghi – former president of the European Central Bank and friend of Merkel and Macron – can effectively manage a €200bn EU Covid relief package for his country.
They also explore the state of the country’s vaccine roll-out and the post-pandemic future of Italian politics. Then, in You Ask Us, they answer listener questions on whether Draghi’s ascendency will make any difference to Eurosceptics in Italy.
World Review publishes a new episode every Friday, and is available on all major podcast platforms.
Further reading
Tim Parks on why Italy remains ungovernable.
Jeremy Cliffe writes from Berlin that Germans are growing exhausted with interminable lockdown restrictions.
In Washington, DC, Emily Tamkin argues that Joe Biden’s $1.9trn Covid stimulus isn’t transformative – yet.
How to listen to the World Review podcast
1. In your browser
You can use the player above to listen in your browser right now. The World Review podcast publishes weekly, on Fridays. All episodes are published to newstatesman.com/podcasts on the day of release.
2. In a podcast app
World Review is available on all major podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Google Podcasts, and more. Search ‘World Review’ in your favourite podcast app, and subscribe or follow to make sure you receive episodes as soon as they publish. While you’re there, please leave a review for the podcast – it helps others find the show, which in turn makes it possible for us to keep making it.
3. On your smart speaker
If you have an Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod smart speaker, ask it to “play the latest episode of World Review”. The same command also works with virtual assistants on mobile devices.
Content from our partners
Related
